Beyond Wilderness

For her fifth collection as an invited member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, Iris van Herpen focuses on the forces of nature, and examines the relationship high above the ground, while simultaneously grounding them to the floor. The shoes were inspired by the dramatic banyan tree and looked as if they were naturally grown, rather than digitally created. Stratasys, one of the world’s leaders in 3D printing, joined forces for the realization creation of these amazing and very sculptural shoes.

Rem D Koolhaas about the collaboration: “It was a great challenge to work with Iris this time as we were using 3D printing for the shoes entirely. The hardest part was the figuring out of the materials and 3D printing techniques to be used. Fashion is always a race against time and 3D printing allows you to move fast. The promise for the future of this technology is very powerful!”

Other collaborators included Jolan van der Wiel and her magnetically grown dresses. She took inspiration from the work of David Altmejd and his wild organic forms, which were also derived from the regeneration of nature.